White Unicorn Ventures plans to raise a $20-million fund to invest in earlystage startups and spend up to $5 million by the end of 2016, five times as much as it did last year.

White Unicorn Ventures plans to raise a $20-million fund to invest in earlystage startups and spend up to $5 million by the end of 2016, five times as much as it did last year.

BENGALURU: White Unicorn Ventures plans to raise a $20-million fund to invest in earlystage startups and spend up to $5 million by the end of 2016, five times as much as it did last year.

“We are looking at foreign partnerships for the $20-million fund,” said Rohit Chokhani, principal founder of White Unicorn Ventures. The company is in talks with investors in Germany and Silicon Valley for the purpose, Chokhani said. “Fifty per cent of the fund allocation will focus on cross-border deals while the remaining amount will largely focus on real-estate tech startups in India,” he said.

The company comprises four associates and 20 individual investors. However, for the $20-million fund, it plans to raise money from independent institutions instead of high networth individuals. Chokhani said the company’s plans to spend $5 million this year are sector agnostic, involving “anything from transportation and travel to B2B marketplaces”.

Half of the $20-million fund, focusing on cross-border deals, will be for the venture fund’s existing portfolio startups to expand operations internationally and for American or European startups to acquire Indian startups or set up products and service operations in India.

While most venture funds are betting big on financial, health and education technology startups, White Unicorn Ventures is scouting for early-stage businesses in real estate technology that don’t simply serve as a listing portal but provide an endto-end service experience. “The real estate tech sector could grow to be a regulated industry… better data transfer, stronger provision of mass housing, inclusive of comparatively newer models like peer to peer networks for brokers…listing alone cannot be monetised,” Chokhani said.

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